Aprimoramento cognitivo farmacológico: grupos focais com universitários

Abstract

The present work analyzed how university students evaluate the use of psychotropics for people that intend to improve cognition without presenting damage in this mental ability. This kind of medicine can only be marketed through special prescription. In this way, the nonmedical use of this type of drug, also called pharmacological neurocognitive enhancement, is illegal. With the growth in the number of American and Canadian academicals students that use stimulants to improve the academic performance, the theme became a concern for the Public Health at the respective countries. The pharmacological neurocognitive enhancement is being very discussed in the field of Neuroethics. In the debates of that the practice is appraised the risks and benefits that this practice can bring to the individual and to the society. In Brazil, this subject is little discussed. Like this, the investigation about academicals students understanding and evaluation about this theme brought information that can enlarge the knowledge about this theme in Brazil. The investigation was accomplished through three focal groups with academicals students. The results indicated that subjects as social pressure (demand of good results), safety of the medicine, risk of social coercion, possibility of that practice increase the social injustice were the main concerns of the interviewed population. Some aspects were understood in a plenty polarized way. It is not clear for the participants of the focal groups, for instance, if this is or not an unchaste practice and if the improvement in the cognitive income can be understood as being legitimate of the person. These and other data show that the understanding of the theme pharmacological neurocognitive enhancement is very influenced by two aspects. The first aspect refers to the previous understanding that the person has about the relationship between brain and behavior and about the relationship between individual and social group. The second aspect refers to the influence that the texts that inform about science exercise on the readers. So, the application of the focal groups was shown an important middle to know the academicals students' understanding on the pharmacological neurocognitive enhancement and, in this way, to contribute for the discussion of that theme in Brazil.